Burketown may be located in remote North West Queensland, however it offers some the latest technology to ensure its community and visitors enjoy quality infrastructure, services and lifestyle.
Burketown has just experienced an increase in connectivity through the completion of the Burketown to Doomadgee Optic Fibre Project.
To deliver this $4 million-plus project, Councillors and Council staff worked tirelessly over a two-year period to prepare and submit grant applications and were ultimately successful with the support of the Australian Government, the Queensland Government and Telstra.
This transformative project saw 90km of optic fibre laid, connecting Burketown to Telstra’s optic fibre network.
This means that local businesses, emergency and health services, schools, residents and visitors will be provided with the infrastructure and tools to be competitive, effective and stay connected with the rest of the world.
The project was completed in November 2016 and residents had access to 4G mobile and data services, as well as ADSL2+ internet just in time for Christmas.
Both residents and tourists who find themselves in Burketown are welcoming the new Telstra Air hotspots that enable the Burke Shire Council to offer free public Wi-Fi.
Telstra customers now have access to three new hotspots that have been installed in the Morning Glory Park and the Burketown Visitor Centre.
In addition to the improved service, these advances in internet accessibility will allow the Shire to capture tourist data for the area.
This will help Council and local business develop and adapt service levels as they get a better picture of who is coming to Burketown, what they are interested in, and why.
The last tourism survey conducted in the Gulf area was in 2013 so the ability to track tourism activity and generate new statistics will improve economic development opportunities for local businesses and assist with tourism infrastructure initiatives.
With boosting tourism high on Council’s to-do list, these statistics will provide powerful evidence for future funding applications which will lead to the creation of jobs in the tourism industry, as well as the increase and improvement in the activities on offer to visitors that are already available in the Burke Shire.
